Introduce the Sunday Division Squad With 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a outstanding experienced side that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of ex- professionals who have played at the highest level of club football and international soccer as you target more silverware.

A Manchester side fields an non-professional vets team with nine former Premier League players in their current lineup.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Division.

Their roster this campaign includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

The elite roster also contains 222 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

They feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home game against defending champions their rivals and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League players have claimed 15 significant trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 goals

Ireland started turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club from 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The people who come and watch are pleased and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a little starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 England appearances.

"We competed well for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Tier championship last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil up and had a

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